Taste (film)

2021 film

Taste

Poster

Directed by| Lê Bảo
Written by| Lê Bảo
Produced by|

* Weijie Lai
* Thị Phương Thảo Đồng

Starring|

* Olegunleko Ezekiel Gbenga
* Thi Minh Nga Khuong
* Thi Dung Le
* Thi Cam Xuan Nguyen
* Thi Tham Thin Vu

Cinematography| Vinh Phúc Nguyễn
Edited by| Lee Chatametikool

Production
companies

* Le Bien Pictures
* E&W Films

Distributed by| Wild Bunch

Release date

* 1 March 2021 (2021-03-01) (Berlin)

Running time

| 97 minutes
Countries|

* Vietnam
* Singapore
* France
* Thailand
* Germany
* Taiwan

Languages|

* Vietnamese
* Yoruba

Taste (Vietnamese: Vị) is an internationally co-produced 2021 drama film, directed and written by Lê Bảo in his feature directorial debut. It stars Olegunleko Ezekiel Gbenga as a Nigerian footballer living in Vietnam who lives with four Vietnamese women, played by Thi Minh Nga Khuong, Thi Dung Le, Thi Cam Xuan Nguyen, and Thi Tham Thin Vu.

It premiered at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival, where it won Special Jury Award during the Encounters section.

## Synopsis

[edit]

After being dropped from the football team due to an injury, Bassley, a Nigerian football player, now works as a barber and resides with four women in a slum.[1]

## Cast

[edit]

* Olegunleko Ezekiel Gbenga as Bassley
* Thi Minh Nga Khuong as Mien
* Thi Dung Le as Trang
* Thi Cam Xuan Nguyen as Hanh
* Thi Tham Thin Vu as Thuong

## Production

[edit]

The project was awarded the Most Promising Project at the 2016 Southeast Asian Film Lab.[2] It was also selected and awarded for TFL Co-Production Awards and ARTE Prize at the 2017 TorinoFilmLab.[3]

## Release

[edit]

Taste had its world premiere at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival during its Encounters section on 1 March 2021.[4] It received the Special Jury Award for the section.[5] Wild Bunch acquired international distribution rights to the film.[6]

On 17 May 2021, the production company Le Bien Pictures was administratively fined 35 million Vietnamese đồng for submitting the film to a film festival without a general license.[7] In July 2021, the film was officially banned from release in Vietnam due to a 30-minute nude scene.[8]

## Reception

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 7 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.0/10.[9] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 59 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[10]

### Accolades

[edit]

Awards and nominations for Taste Award  | Date of ceremony  | Category  | Recipient(s)  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

Berlin International Film Festival | 1 March 2021 | Encounters Award – Special Jury Prize  | Taste | Won  | [5]
Taipei Film Festival | 7 October 2021  | International New Talent Competition  | Lê Bảo  | Won  | [11]
Asia Pacific Screen Awards | 11 November 2021 | Achievement in Cinematography | Nguyễn Vinh Phúc  | Won  | [12]
Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival | 4 December 2021 | Golden Hanoman Award  | Taste | Won  | [13]
NETPAC Award  | Won

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Kiang, Jessica (9 March 2021). "'Taste' Review: An Opaque, Evocative, Imposing Slow-Cinema Work of Art". Variety. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
2. ^ "Winners of the Singapore International Film Festival 2016". Asian Film Festivals. 14 December 2016. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
3. ^ Niola, Gabriele (27 November 2017). "TorinoFilmLab reveals 2017 winners". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
4. ^ Sharf, Zack (11 February 2021). "Berlin Film Festival Lineup 2021: New Films by Céline Sciamma and Hong Sang-soo Enter Competition". IndieWire. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
5. ^ a b Sharf, Zack (5 March 2021). "Berlin Film Festival Winners 2021: 'Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn' Takes Golden Bear". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
6. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (1 March 2021). "Wild Bunch launches 'The New Toy' starring Daniel Auteuil and Jamel Debbouze (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
7. ^ Mai Nhật (17 May 2021). "Phim Việt bị phạt 35 triệu đồng sau khi đoạt giải quốc tế". VnExpress. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
8. ^ An An (12 July 2021). "Có trường đoạn khỏa thân tập thể hàng chục phút, phim Vị bị cấm phổ biến tại Việt Nam". Thanh Niên. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
9. ^ "Taste". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
10. ^ "Taste". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 4 October 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
11. ^ "Taipei Film Festival - 2021 Winners". Taipei Film Festival. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
12. ^ Tabbara, Mona (11 November 2021). "'Drive My Car' claims top prize at Asia Pacific Screen Awards". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
13. ^ Fathurrozak (4 December 2021). "Yuni dan Seperti Dendam, Rindu Harus Dibayar Tuntas Berbagi Silver Hanoman di JAFF". Media Indonesia. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2024.